The planned Dole Food merger with Ireland’s Total Produce will give a combined entity that will be largest fresh produce supplier in the world with $10bn in revenues.

Over and above this merger, in the last 3-5 years, there has been a considerable amount of interest in the International fresh produce space from investors. Two key factors have driven the growing interest: weakness in traditional global commodities like corn and soybeans and huge consumer demand for fresh, healthy food. And that demand/desire for fresh produce is set to further increase post the Covid epidemic. Combined with this is the appeal of investing in agriculture/fresh produce because of the potential diversification opportunities as well.

But how can you find the information and the potential trends for you to make informed decisions or to network with those that will be able to assist you within International Fresh Produce?

If you are in the international fresh produce sectors be that running a business or as a potential investor, this Broadcast and Podcast will be a must listen to. We lean on the industry expertise of Craig McBain to give us all a view of what he is seeing and what future trends may be approaching us all next.

Craig has participated in and led change in a number of organisations across multiple industries. Prior to founding his consultancy business Persea, he headed up a vertically integrated multi-national agriculture fresh produce business. With operations in South Africa and Europe, the business was involved in the production, sourcing, packing, value adding, distribution and marketing of a range of sub-tropical fresh produce. With supply partners in numerous origins in South America, Central America, Europe and Africa, Craig not only developed deep insights into successful investment models for numerous high value crops but was also exposed to the vast investment opportunities that the likes of sub-Saharan Africa provides for long-term investors.

He has also worked in private equity, as the CEO and co-investor in a platform build-up. His formative career years were spent as a process engineer and then in management consulting.